Popular Festivals

Aidan Moffat has posted a tribute to B.S. Johnson on what would have been the writer's 80th birthday.

Aidan Moffat has never shied away from his literary influences, and became one of the first artists to enter Their Library. Asked about his favourite authors, the Scottish songwriter named B.S. Johnson as an enormous inspiration: "A few years ago I discovered B S Johnson’s work and read it all – it was quite an expensive thing to do, some of his books are quite rare – and I really fell in love with it. It’s never 100% successful, but his dedication to truth really struck a chord with me, and his experimentation with the book format itself really impressed me – he was arguably making interactive literature forty years before the iPad was invented."

A hugely inventive writer, B.S. Johnson tragically took his own life in 1973. Today (February 5th) would have marked the author's 80th birthday and in tribute Aidan Moffat has posted a new recording. "Today would've been BS Johnson's 80th birthday. To commemorate it, I recorded one of his poems..." he wrote on Twitter. "It's about his penis."

On his BandCamp, Aidan Moffat continued: "The good news is that four of his novels – Albert Angelo, Trawl, Christie Malry's Own Double Entry, and House Mother Normal (probably my personal favourite) – are being reprinted this Spring, along with a new anthology called Well Done God! and a BFI DVD collection of his short films."

Finishing, the Scottish artist suggested that a fuller tribute could be in the works. "2013 also marks the 40th anniversary of his death – 13th November to be precise. If I have the time, I may record a few more of his poems and release them as a free download then – this isn't a commercial exercise, it's a tribute to a writer whose work has made my life a little richer. I'm simply – hopefully – spreading the joy."

Listen to 'The Poet Holds His Future In His Hand' below.

&lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&quot;http://aidanjohnmoffat.bandcamp.com/track/the-poet-holds-his-future-in-his-hand&quot; href=&quot;http://aidanjohnmoffat.bandcamp.com/track/the-poet-holds-his-future-in-his-hand&quot;&gt;The Poet Holds His Future In His Hand by Aidan John Moffat&lt;/a&gt;